Hahm Ji Bach

I have visit it many times later and I realized this place is a good one. The very first time I came here I didn’t feel good. Probably because it is the way too busy. If you didn’t go at the busiest time, you will get good food and service. The Korean friends told me this is the traditional good Korean food.

Main courses are mediocre, albeit having a dazzling array of banchan. Price is decent for portions but bibimbaps are bland.

Never went to another Korean place since discovering this one!
There’s plenty of banchan (appetizers) and tons of good dish options. One of my favorite banchan is their mini kimchi pancake, which other places I’ve been to don’t offer. Their combos are amazing as well. I typically go for the LA galbi with the soybean paste soup. So delicious!
They’re usually packed for dinner, but the line is rather quick.
Highly recommended. My mouth is watering just thinking about their food.

My new Korean spot in Flushing. Parking can get a bit tricky as the restaurant is placed somewhere in a more residential setting off of Northern Blvd. valet parking available but if u have a nice vehicle, I would circle around and find a parking myself!
Koreans are like a big clan that knows where to go & eat with just word of mouth advertisement if u have friends &/​or family members that live in the area.
By the large crowd of people who are willing to wait to dine here, you know this place is legit! They also have tables on the lower floor as well.
I would pick the cold noodles & Korean BBQ combo!
Say Bye, bye to All the big convenient restaurants situated on Northern Blvd. For good! I’ll take the inconvenient parking & long wait here for their ban chan (small plates, free apps at the table kind of like mini Korean tapas that u can get more per request). The cold noodles are best here by far! I raise my chopsticks to this spot!

Hahm Ji Bach is your average Korean restaurant in Flushing, Queens. Unfortunately, there is a great amount of competition from much better managed and high-​quality restaurants offering superior service and delicious Korean food in the neighborhood. I would recommend this restaurant for family outings and large groups. However, there are more authentic Korean restaurants nearby for more adventurous foodies and connoisseurs of traditional cuisine.

3.75 stars.
A 20-​minute walk for the last stop on the 7 train, this places feels like the end of the world. Getting here can be a challenge, so in my mind it needs to be very good to be interested in coming back.
I got here with my partner in a Saturday afternoon at 3pm, the place had plenty of seats. A very informal setting, more like a diner, with bright lights and fast & furious service. I loved the Korean posters and signs… They even keep a tv on with Korean programs running.
Since they bring all sorts of small dishes with your entrees, we didn’t order any appetizer.
Hot stone rice bowl with stir fried octopus: the octopus was left pretty tough, but the dish was solid. I don’t think I’d order it again because I like octopus more when it’s tender. However, if you want it chewy this could be your dish.
Braised spicy pork ribs: very good. The meat was coming off the bone and the gravy of the stew was delicious. I wish I had had some bread to dip in it!
Portions are beyond generous, so even though prices seem high, you do get a lot of bangs for your bucks.
I would go back to have some BBQ next time, as they seem to bring very sizable portions.

The ban Chan here is amazing. Such a great variety. I really like the jap jae and the octopus. The raw crabs is delicious. The service is great and waitress was friendly. The bathroom was clean. The fried mandoo is very crispy and juicy on the inside.

This place is pretty awesome! Solid Korean BBQ!
I’m only giving it three stars because the hostess told us our table for 4 was ready so we stood around and waited to be seated. But 20 minutes pass and she disappeared and we had to remind her about our table. She completely forgot about us and was very apologetic, but we were beyond starving at this point. The location isn’t accessible by train or bus; we took a cab from the Main St train station but its at least a 30 mins walk if you choose to trek it on a nice summer day.
Once we were seated, the food came really fast and the servers were attentive. The galbi was the best, IMO… our server overcooked the kalbi =(Price wasn’t bad at all! Highly recommend if you’re in the area!

I haven’t been to this place since 2010. At that time this restaurant was located on the other side of northern Blvd, and I still remember the long line waiting outside! Now the restaurant has nicer and larger dining area than before ! Most importantly, the food here is always soooo yummy!

Again, popped into this place and again was not disappointed.
A lot of food, reasonably priced. Quiet on a Sunday evening.
Drink menu is lacking, but the food makes up for it.

I’ve had Korean bbq many times over the years but there’s a je né sais quoi about Hahm Ji Bach that really brings Korean bbq to the next level!
Came to this bib gourmand with a few friends on a Saturday night at 9pm and were seated in 30 minutes. The manager actually forgot about us but was so sincere and cute in her apology that we couldn’t hold a grudge. We ordered the thick pork belly, bulgogi, kalbi, seafood pancake, steamed egg, and cucumber sojo.
The side dishes came out first (as always) and I was pleasantly surprised to see a few side dishes I’d never seen before, such as spicy crab legs, potato shreds, or apple salad (we had a debate about this. My friend swore it was potato salad, but it tasted like apple to me!).
I am able to drink soju just fine normally, but the soju they served packed a punch! Our server emptied the bottle into a tea kettle that contained cucumbers and told us to let the two ingredients sit for five minutes before drinking. It had a very pleasant, (strong), cucumber/​cooling taste and would be very refreshing on a hot July day.
Our server helped us prepare the meats and recommended we first dip the pork belly into the pork belly dipping sauce and then into the dehydrated bean powder. The effect was delicious! Who knew bean powder on your grilled pork belly would taste so good?
Of the pork belly, bulgogi, and kalbi, the kalbi stole the show. It was just SO good *drools*.
Service was great throughout the evening and I am definitely glad I made the trip out here.
It’s a little bit of a ways away from Main Street, Flushing — we took a cab and it was $ 8 so it wasn’t too expensive. I definitely recommend driving over/​calling an über. Overall, an excellent experience!

Returning customer.
$ 60 pork belly deal. Good to feed 3. Comes with 5 pork belly orders all different flavors, a stew, and steamed egg. Good service, and delicious food.

I’ve come here for lunch on several occasions only because Sik Gaek isn’t opened til 4pm or something ridiculous like that.
The food here isn’t wonderful but also not terrible. The seafood pancake isn’t the best. The bulgogi is okay feel like it might be a little to fatty!
The service is good but slower than molasses in January. It irks me.

I’m in love with this place. I came with my family and we ordered so many things. Like every other Korean restaurant, there were side dishes. But this place had like 10. All different, and they were all yummy.
For BBQ, we ordered:
Dol Samgyupsal (pork)
Daepae Samgyupsal (pork)
Bulgogi (beef)
Hyomit Gui (beef tongue)
Galbi Gui (beef)
Sang Galbi Gui (beef)
We cleared it all. Every meat had their own sauce, their own way of eating it, and they were all SOO juicy and flavorful. You practically don’t even need the sauce for that quality of meat.
We also ordered the Kimchi/​seafood pancake. There’s a bit more batter than I hoped, but it was still yummy. It wasn’t covered in oil. Their japche was nothing special. I could have done without it. Their Hanbang Samgye Tang (chicken soup) was also ok. It didn’t have enough flavor, but the meat was really soft. It’s pretty refreshing.
The staff was super nice and smiley. Some of the waitresses spoke Korean, English, AND Chinese. Super talented. Definitely made my parents like this place even more. They help you cook your meat, refill your water frequently, and take away empty dishes so you have more space on the table. I will definitely be back!

A friend of mine suggested this place and boy was she right. The service is impeccable and the ban Chan plates were plenty. Prices of their BBQ were similar to the neighborhood so no surprise there. Not cheap but you’re paying for quality meats and excellent service.
The thick sliced pork belly was cooked to perfection. Just the right amount of fat and a pretty char. I was very pleased with the taste.
The Galbi was also a stand out. These beef ribs were juicy, cooked medium (next time I’ll ask for more rare) and flavorful. You can taste the beef and the tenderness of it made it easy to chew and keep on chowing down.
I also ordered the bulgolgi but mainly for the kids. It was not as good as the Galbi flavor wise but still better than other places I’ve tried.
Appetizers we ordered as well were the seafood pancake and fried dumplings. Both were fresh and nicely crisp without the char flavor and you didn’t even need the dumpling soy sauce. It was available nonetheless.
This place was clean and had a very neat décor. Two grills cooking at once kept us entertained and busy eating. They don’t skimp on food or service. I would totally come back again.
Tip: doesn’t hurt that they were featured on The Food Network and that it’s Michelin rated. Also doesn’t hurt it was named top 50 restaurants to try. Ranked 33.
Must try. BTW only street parking available or use the valet service as offered.

Came here on Christmas, and this place still doesnt disappoint!
Although it was super busy, the waitresses were still very attentive. Plentiful side dishes.
We ordered Jap Chae, Seafood pancake, kalbi, and pork belly, you know the typical. All was very fresh and hefty portions compared to some other korean bbq restaurants.
Price was very reasonable, 6 people, bill came out to be about 170.

4.5 stars
Lots of banchan! I love that they give so many. I never had so many options and they were all fabulous.
The service was fast and they thought I was Korean! I love when people mistaken me for being Korean.
I ordered the pepper pancake and the vegetable bibimbop. I wish they gave tofu to replace the meat for the bibimbop since it was the same meat price. I also wish it was purple rice instead of white since they gave purple rice to my date. The pepper pancake was a poor choice on my end because it does not mix at all. It was basically large slices of pepper.
The meal ended with cubes of pineapple in the shell and a refreshing drink.

Only been here for their weekday lunch and woah! Totally affordable. I remember checking this place out before and remembered their prices to be pretty expensive, which is consistent with most korean restaurants but their lunch deals are definitely affordable!
First time i went there i got the seafood soondubu. It was good and had a generous amount of tofu! It comes with a small bowl of white rice or purple multigrain rice, whichever you pick. The second time i went there i got the hot bibimbap. This was also good!
The best thing about this place has to be the crazy about of ban chan (side dishes) this place gives! There was almost 15 dishes!!! It was nice to have a variety of different things as opposed to some korean places that simply only give kimchi.
The service is okay. They don’t always fill up your water until you ask and the workers there generally seem to only speak korean.
ALSO, theyre 24 hours!

Came here on a weekday for their lunch special, which is a steal! I got their bulgogi for $ 13 and they definitely do not skimp on the banchan. Their bulgogi was tender and sweet, extremely well marinated. The staff and host were all very kind and welcoming. I loved their iced pumpkin soup at the end of the meal.
Definitely a great place to come back for authentic Korean food!

Ahhh… You know a Korean restaurant is good when a Korean person tells you it’s good!!!
There’s almost ALWAYS a wait — but coming from a guy who HATES waiting. well it’s worth your wait. Go down the block and see what’s on the dessert menu at Caffeine Fix or Café De Cupping or just sit around in the waiting area watching other people get their food to help you prepare your stomach for the best Korean food you will ever have! Whether you’re in the mood for pork belly/​samgyupsal or traditional Korean style meals with banchan, you’ve come to the right place.

Hahm Ji Bach is quite possibly the King of BANCHAN!
On a short trip to Flushing, my friends and I really wanted to try out some of the Korean fare. We’re used to having LA K-​Town be our back alley, so we knew it would be difficult to live up to the quality that Southern California offers. Fortunately, HJB is a great place to get your Korean fix.
A couple of things really stand out for me here at HJB:
— Banchan here is excellent. SERIOUSLY. They have a variety to pick at including potato tempura and small crabs dipped in spicy gochujang. The higher pricing for the food here probably equates to the quality of banchan they serve up.
— Tabletop BBQ has its smoked sucked up around the corners of the grill, meaning your clothes won’t be as smelly as other ventilated restaurants.
— Workers here grill and cut everything for you, even if you’re Korean
We ordered three types of meat for our BBQ, and while they are pricier than what I’d considered the norm, the quality is definitely there. Definitely get the samgyeopsal (pork belly) and galbi (marinated ribs).
Warning: the brisket here (chadulbagi) costs more than galbi, which makes no sense to me considering it’s a lot less meat. I’d settle for the other meat options since the pricing for that makes no sense to me.
At the end of the meal, they serve you complimentary mango tea and pineapple, which was perfect. Thanks HJB for a good meal and some excellent service!

Is there a better, more complete, Korean restaurant than Hahm Ji Bach in the 5 boroughs? Unlikely.
After a major renovation a couple of years ago, HJB has taken their establishment to new heights in décor, prices (#1), and food. Gone are the dingy tables for 4 and antiquated wooden interior from the 90s — it’s now bright, spacious, clean, and the ambiance is as bustling as ever. On top of all of this, the place is still open 24 hours, 7 nights a week. Everyone wins.
The menu is understandably large, consisting mostly of traditional classics ranging from stews to meats to standalone dishes. I’m a fan of their kimchi jiggae and an order of their perfectly crunchy mandoo dumplings. When I feel like switching it up, veggie bimbimbap with a haemool pajun (seafood pancake) are a worthy combo. For you banchan (side dishes) fans, there is a healthy amount of variety here as well.
If you’re here for the BBQ, look no further than their sam gyup sal, aka pork belly. It is a quality slab of samgyupsal, which needs almost no seasoning to harness the juicy flavor and is likely to run out on weekends. The kalbi, while delicious, is not better than nearby Mapo BBQ (
) or Han Joo (
). I’m not saying to avoid the meat entirely, but there are other places that can execute it better for less money.
On a service front, they’ve been fantastic. I’ve managed to find tables at all hours of the night and they’ve been accommodating during every experience. Most of them are multilingual (Korean, Mandarin, English, etc), which is mighty convenient for just about anyone who visits this place. The clean bathrooms are a thumbs up and always make sure to check for auto-​gratuity when in a big group.
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(#1) Has a restaurant like this ever been reasonably priced?

This was one of the best experiences I have had at a korean restaurant. I made a reservation for a birthday so we didnt have to wait although they did not seat us until most of the party was there. It was okay since they have some nice seating out front as you wait and valet parking. I have never been to the old location but this location seemed quite roomy with large bench like seating.
There were only 5 of us so we ordered a beef valentine and a pork valentine special. We were not digging the curry flavor of one of the pork bellys in the 5 flavor combo so we just stuck with the valentine special and a jap chae glass noodle and pancake.
This seemed to be a good choice cuz it seemed as if the ban chan side dishes were endless. There were at least 12 types of ban chan which we got 2 sets of as well as 2 large sides of garden salad. If you like veggies these will definitely fill you up if the meat does not. They did not have the radish kimchi but the cabbage one was fine. I am usually an all you can eat kbbq person but I did not feel like I was missing much. Sometimes it is nice to stay at the table to just eat and be served. Our meal came with rice and they gave us two spicy stews so we had the kimchi jigae and the spicy tofu soonduboo jigae. It was hard to tell the difference but both were good. It also came with a steamed egg jjim dish and we finished with some nice chilled pumpkin soup at the end.
Galbi gui short rib was very tender and the bulgogi rib eye beef was nicely marinated. Samgyupsal or pork belly is one of my favorite things in life and after having the one here I kept thinking about it all week. The marinated and unmarinated versions were both delicious melt in your mouth fatty goodness when it is nicely charred and cooked on the hot stone and they use fat to grease the stone before cooking for added flavor. Yum! The service was good and the lady helped us from time to time to cook the food for us and distribute it amongst us and we were treated well despite the fact that none of us were korean. The only difficulty was how to fit so much food on the table. There was definitely a lot of shuffling.
I had a wonderful time here and definitely plan to come back for a nice traditional korean meal when we can.

My favorite Korean restaurant in flushing. It’s always busy here, parking is hard to find but thank God for valet!
The waiters and waitresses are always attentive and quick. They’re very friendly.
I came here with a friend on sat at noon and they seated us right away. We got the lunch specials — kamjatang and yukgaejang.
I love the fact that they give you so many side dishes — they’re always fresh and come in these white porcelain bowls /​plates. This restaurant is pretty clean and that reflects in their food too.
Everything was deliciously prepared. I am already dreaming of going back!